


a certain step towards falling in love (can't blame gravity)

by MadHare0512



Series: Author's Favorites [21]
Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Carlos Rodriguez Needs a Hug, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I wanted Ricky to confess his feelings, Pre-Slash, Sleepovers, but in true Ricky fashion he said no
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:20:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23659009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadHare0512/pseuds/MadHare0512
Relationships: Ricky Bowen & Carlos Rodriguez
Series: Author's Favorites [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1529300
Kudos: 10





	a certain step towards falling in love (can't blame gravity)

a certain step towards falling in love (can't blame gravity)

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

**AU: None**

_"You can't blame gravity for falling in love."  
_ _~Albert Einstein_

_"To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love."  
_ _~Jane Austen_

Carlos wanted to fall in love with Sebastian. His cute puppy eyes when he begged for Carlos's help had just melted his heart. Carlos wanted to be able to fall in love with Sebastian. But he also knew that stringing a person along wasn't the best thing for any involved and he valued Sebastian's friendship more than he wanted a relationship. He wished he could, really, but the truth was Carlos was already in love. He saw those puppy eyes, but all he could think about was brown when he looked at Sebastian's blue. He saw the blonde hair delicately styled, but all he could think about was a shaggy brown mess. He saw the designer clothes fitted for the person wearing them, but all he could think about was jeans and graphic tees that made him laugh.

He wanted to fall in love with Sebastian, but that wouldn't be fair when he was already in love with Ricky.

He didn't know when he'd fallen in love with the lead of the musical he was choreographing, but he could tell it was probably over the hours spent teaching the older male the steps of songs he'd been trying so hard to learn. When they where at school, in the lunches spent sharing lines Ricky would need to say while he was dancing. It was in the times Ricky had noticed one of the older kids hurting Carlos and demanded that they stopped. It was in the times that Carlos had noticed Ricky hurting and come to his aid with distracting questions of some sort or another. Carlos didn't know when he'd fallen in love with Ricky.

But he couldn't lead Sebastian on. He'd noticed the puppy dog eyes, the new effort put into his hair, the tailored clothes, and all Carlos could think about was how it was wrong, wrong, _wrong_. So Sebastian had to know that Carlos wasn't in love with him. It would break his heart.

Carlos stood from his seat by Miss Jenn, resolving to tell Sebastian that day after rehearsal.

Ricky intercepted him on his way to get his water bottle. "Hey, Carlos. I have something I want to run by you, do you think you could come over after rehearsal?"

Carlos paused and thought about it. Being closer to Ricky in any capacity would make him a flustered mess if any of his interactions with past crushes where anything to go by. This being said, even if he never told Ricky how he felt, Carlos wanted to be closer to him in any way he could. He nodded, "Sure, but there's something I'll have to do first."

Ricky nodded, then went back to his seat and continued looking over his script.

_HSMTMTS~HSMTMTS~HSMTMTS_

Ricky was smarter than other people gave him credit for and smarter than he gave _himself_ credit for. He noticed Carlos getting a little uncomfortable around Sebastian as more and more time went on. And maybe he was reading into it, but those smiles he gave Ricky, _only_ seemed to be directed at Ricky. The warmer smiles with the hint of perfect teeth that spoke of how proud he was and how happy he was. Ricky had never seen Carlos smile like that for anyone else.

Which is why he'd invited him over to his house. Well, partially, he did want to talk to Carlos about an idea he had. Point being Ricky was excited to spend this time with Carlos. He liked the younger Latino boy. He'd realized how much when Carlos was on the phone with his uncle speaking Spanish with the same kind of grace he danced with. Carlos had told him one day during their tutoring sessions that his mother hadn't taught him her native tongue, but his uncle, who was around a lot, had taught him instead. Carlos was fluent in both his native tongue and in English.

He wondered sometimes if Carlos ever got lost in his head enough that he spoke Spanish without realizing it. Ricky knew he spoke in half-English and half-gibberish. Something in him couldn't wait to find out. He was ready to ask Carlos for a relationship. He truly was. Being apart from Nini had made him realize how much he loved her as a friend. He was sure he was Bisexual, but he didn't like Nini, not like that. Let her shine on her own, he didn't was her to be anything less than a star. She deserved it. He needed to move on and he wanted Carlos to be there with him.

He waited patiently for Carlos after school, wanting to tell the younger then and there that he was in love with him. But it was better to do these things in the privacy of your home, where people couldn't interrupt. So, there he was, bouncing in the balls of his feet in the same way he'd do flips on his skateboard. He was so excited to tell Carlos about his idea and it showed.

Carlos finally came back from the practice room, wiping at his eyes. Ricky fell into step next to him, "You okay?"

Carlos shook his head, "No. but I will be." He sniffled, then tried for a smile. It was instead at the edges and a bit too wide, but it was genuine.

Ricky nodded, "Okay. You wanna stay for dinner? Dad's going to try his hand at making lasagna."

Carlos nodded, "I'll stay, just let me tell to my Mom." He pulled out his phone and called his mother's number. He spoke with her in bits and pieces of both English and Spanish.

Ricky turned out his conversation until he noticed Carlos had hung up. "Good?"

"I can stay for dinner. She's pushing for me to spend the night," Carlos laughed. "She's lucky I carry spare clothes in my bag. Would it be okay for me to spend the night?"

Ricky nodded, "As long as it's okay with Dad."

They got to his house and Ricky let Carlos in. "I'll ask Dad if you can stay the night later, for now, let me tell you my idea."

They talked and talk until they had a full plan. It was well into the night when they finally managed to get the plan fleshed out. Carlos did end up staying the night and they ran through the choreography again. Ricky decided to talk to Carlos the next day, he wanted to plan it out a bit more. One thing was for sure, this was a certain step towards falling in love, and he couldn't blame gravity. Not that he wanted to or even tried.

Ricky smiled as he fell asleep to the soft snores Carlos made in his sleep. Maybe telling Carlos in the morning was his best bet after all.


End file.
